Champions League final countdown and reaction - Live
Matt The Blue |
Posted Friday, 18 May 2012 at 3:06pm. Last updated Sunday, 20 May 2012 at 8:35pm.
Here we go. Join us as we countdown to the Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Chelsea at Bayern’s Allianz Arena.
As I type Chelsea FC Blog’s very own Jonathan, Donal (aka Blue Bayou) and Mark are making their way to Germany in all manner of planes, trains and automobiles and will be posting photos of their journeys and experiences here, technology permitting. If you’re also travelling to Munich and would like to share a photo or two, send them to this email address.
In the meantime why not listen to the Champions League Special episode of the Podding Shed and our Now That’s What I Call Munich! Vol 1 Spotify playlist. While you’re at it read Mark’s and a whole host of other Chelsea bloggers’ verdict on the final on the Sun’s website.
4:20pm: Jonathan’s arrived in Munich.
“From the cab. Now seriously excited. Bring it on…”
Saturday 12:22am: Good news. Robbie Di Matteo confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Gary Cahill and David Luiz trained all week:
“Cahill and David Luiz trained the whole week so we are very hopeful, and Malouda will join the group today. We brought two players from the B list just in case, Nathaniel Chalobah and Todd Kane.
“I will wait until the last session tonight to see and reassess all my players. Then tonight I will make my final decisions about the team selection.”
A couple of newspapers are reporting that Di Matteo will start Ryan Bertrand and Ashley Cole in an effort to nullify the threat posed by Philipp Lahm and Arjen Robben down Bayern’s right. Could work.
12:58am: Looks like Jonathan’s enjoying himself.
“Another one for the road…”
News of Mark’s whereabouts has arrived via the comments…
6:03am: “On the way to Heathrow, not sighted any Germans yet.”
6:49am: “At Heathrow, plenty of blue shirts.”
7:57am: “On plane to Dusseldorf.”
And Donal’s via Twitter…
And a tweet from Jonathan…
9:36am: More from Mark…
“In Dusseldorf, where’s the stadium?”
10:00am: And a photo from Jonathan…
“Marienplatz, Munich.”
10:07am: Dan Levene of the Fulham & Hammersmith Chronicle on Twitter…
10:15am: Nice interview with Juan Mata in the Guardian.
10:20am: Breakfast in Munich…
“Weisswurst, sweet mustard, pretzel and beer - the breakfast of champions!”
Reminds me of something Robert De Niro’s character Joseph Megessey said in Jacknife:
“Take one sip of breakfast beer and the cobwebs go, your voice rises two octaves, and hey, man, the sun comes up inside you.”
Beer for breakfast it is then. I need something to calm my nerves.
11:00am: Tony’s latest post for the official Chelsea FC website blog.
11:12am: Mark makes the final descent to Munich…
Nothing more from Donal yet. He probably got sidetracked by a train.
11:22am: Tweet from Donal…
“A lie down in the Englischer Garden before lunch. Avoiding the Nudist Meadow.”
11:30am: Another photo from Mark…
“Allianz Arena. Smaller than I was expecting.”
12:15pm: A few statistics from the BBC Football website that support my forecast that we will prevail…
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The last time the sides met, in 2005 quarter-finals, Chelsea won 6-5 on aggregate.
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Bayern have won one and lost two of three previous finals against English clubs.
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This is the sixth European Cup final between German and English teams - only once previously did the Bundesliga side prevail.
Um, oh…
“An unsophisticated forecaster uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than for illumination.” - Andrew Lang
12:21pm: Talking of drunken men…
“OK, I know there is a theme developing…”
3:20pm: Raphael Honigstein shows off his home town of Munich on CNN.
3:42pm: Donal on Twitter…
“A fine lunch and the beer is flowing. I may well be watching 2 games.”
3:45pm: A couple of quotations…
“The ball is round. The game lasts ninety minutes. Everything else is theory.” - Sepp Herberger
“In football everything is complicated by the presence of the opposite team.” - Jean-Paul Sartre
3:50pm: And two more photos from Jonathan…
“Marienplatz - Bayern central!”
“Augustiner am Dom - Chelsea enclave…”
5:57pm: A photo from Jonathan from Frotmanning U-Bahn station…
“Outnumbered, but not outgunned - Bayern fans are terrified by Drogba.”
And a tweet… “Nearly at the ground. Nerves off the scale. See you all on the other side…”
6:36pm: Chelsea team…
(4-2-3-1) Cech; Bosingwa, Cahill, Luiz, Cole; Mikel, Lampard (c); Kalou, Mata, Bertrand; Drogba.
Bayern team…
(4-2-3-1) Neuer; Lahm, Tymoshchuk, Boateng, Contento; Schweinsteiger, Kroos; Robben, Müller, Ribery; Gomez.
7:00pm: Right. That’s it from me for now. I’ll leave you with this…
Europe - The Final Countdown.
Sorry. I’ve imbibed quite a lot of wine.
See you all on the other side.
Sunday 12:50am: Inebriated and deliriously happy.
Saturday, 19 May 2012 was one of the best days of my life.
What a feeling!
(Where would we be without cheesy 1980s pop music.)
To bed.
Good night all.
11:30am: Ow. I have a headache. And wow. Champions of Europe. Incredible. It still hasn’t sunk in.
A few tweets and comments from earlier this morning…
Mark in the comments…
Jonathan on Twitter…
Sky Sports News on Twitter…
Peter Watts on Twitter…
“Best cover pic goes to Sunday Telegraph.”
12:01pm: Listen to the last three minutes of BBC Radio 5 live’s coverage of the penalty shoot-out. So good.
4:05pm: To quote the inimitable Withnail, I feel unusual. There’s only one thing for it, I’m going to crack open another bottle of wine and watch the victory parade on Chelsea TV. Tony’s there, on the King’s Road, he’s posting some photos on Twitter. I will post the best of them here later.
8:20pm: Two photos of the victory parade from Tony…
8:35pm: I think that’s it from me. It’s been emotional to say the least. Many thanks to Jonathan, Mark, Donal and Tony for their photos, tweets and comments. They made a wonderful day in Chelsea Football Club’s history even more memorable. I’m off to listen to What a Feeling by Irene Cara one more time (OK, maybe two or three - I’m quite drunk again).
What a season.